Sam Biddle

The French, probably in the midst of a Malian air war adrenaline rush, have gone on another offensive: the hashtag is out. From now on, it's called a mot-dièse, which is sort of like a Twitter Royale with Cheese.

The French are notoriously tight-handed when it comes to language—they don't want American BS corrupting what's generally considered to be one of the most beautiful languages in the world. To that end, they actually have an official government agency that dictates this thing, and makes it law, as opposed to the American linguistic Wild West, with our YOLOs and hip-hop and "booty calls" and "hashtags." No—from now on, you'll call it a mot-dièse if you're working within the French government, and you'll like it, mon ami. If you're a private citizen, you'll just be sneered at for using this filthy Yankee neologism. [Yahoo News]